stp-press.st (09.04.2020)

The São Tomé government through the Ministry of Labour and Solidarity, has decided to anticipate the payment of two bi-monthly payments [ 2,400 Dobras ] to mothers who are beneficiaries of the "Family Program" as a way to "alleviate" the negative impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic. The program involves 2,570 families (mainly mothers) in situations of extreme poverty.

Business Standard News (26.04.2020) The Union government is going to launch an online portal for the migrant workers in the unorganised sector impacted due to a national lockdown imposed to check the spread of Covid-19 in India. The portal, which has been tentatively named by the labour and employment ministry as the National Portal for Covid-19 Affected Unorganised Migrant Workers, will gather the details of all the unorganised sector workers who are stranded in relief camps, residential or industrial clusters.

The Ministry of Labor (21.04.2020) In order to assist enterprises and workers affected by the COVID-19, the Ministry of Labor has expanded the "Charge Restart Training Program" since February 21st, subsidizing companies with training costs of up to 3.5 million yuan. The Ministry encourages enterprises to use this period to provide training with their employees . Workers participating in training courses can also receive a training allowance of RMB 158 per hour, with a maximum of 120 hours per month, and a maximum of RMB 18,960 per month.

The Ministry of Labor (27.04.2020) The Ministry of Labor relaxes eligibility of "Relaxed Real-Time Work Plan", and those with insurance records within one year can apply for the job opportunities provided by local governments and central authorities. The job includes document sorting, environmental cleaning, and epidemic prevention-related work, such as measuring temperature and disinfecting the environment. The maximum allowance is 12,640 yuan per month and maximum duration per person is 6 months.

Taiwan News (08.04.2020)Taiwan's phone-based tracking system to monitor quarantined people sought by multiple countries. 

The apparatus identifies a person’s whereabouts based on the location of his/her mobile phone relative to nearby cell towers, which reveals the distance of the phone from a specific cell reception tower and its direction in relation to the tower.

stlucianic.org (09.04.2020)

24 April 2020 On the occasion of the World Day on Safety and Health at Work on 28 April, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) wants to pay tribute to all the courageous health workers who risk their lives to save others during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

politico.eu (24.04.2020) EU national leaders directed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to draw up plans for a new long-term financial blueprint for the bloc that would also drive an economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis with a combination of loans and grants. 

European Council (23.04.2020) On 23 April 2020 EU leaders discussed progress on the various dimensions of the European response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was the fourth video meeting of this kind. The heads of state or government endorsed the agreement of the Eurogroup on three safety nets for workers, businesses and sovereigns, amounting to a package worth 540 billion euro. They called for the package to be operational by 1 June 2020.